The Role of Mainstream Entertainment in Driving Blockchain Adoption

In today's interview, I am speaking with Jett Tang from the Hourglass Collective, and we will explore the intriguing connection between mainstream entertainment and blockchain technology as we delve into how entertainment platforms can play a crucial role in increasing awareness and adoption of blockchain technology.

We'll also discuss the challenges and obstacles that arise in bridging the gap between blockchain and mainstream entertainment and how influential figures in the entertainment industry can serve as advocates and educators to drive blockchain adoption.

Additionally, we'll look at the opportunities that arise when blockchain and mainstream entertainment come together and the potential future impact on traditional entertainment models. So, let's get started!

Please introduce yourself and tell us what you do.

I’m Jett Tang, Executive Producer of “The Next Crypto Gem” TV Series and President of the Hourglass Collective, who incubated this project.

How can mainstream entertainment platforms play a significant role in increasing awareness and driving the adoption of blockchain technology?

Mainstream entertainment, like “The Next Crypto Gem,” makes new areas of innovation, including blockchain technology, relatable by connecting it to stories, personalities, and competition.

It’s far more palatable for many of the masses to learn about Web3 while watching a highly entertaining and dramatic game show like ours compared to studying a technical white paper.

In what ways can blockchain projects leverage the popularity and reach of mainstream entertainment to promote their technology?

Blockchain projects should tell their story compellingly to the masses and those they want to attract while using self-publishing platforms and social media to build a following.

For those wanting to be part of our TV series, we will accept applications to be on Season 2 of “The Next Crypto Gem” in early September, right before our Season 1 premiere.

What challenges or obstacles do you foresee in bridging the gap between blockchain and mainstream entertainment? How can these challenges be addressed?

Some networks and entities may be gun-shy about embracing content in the Web3 space due to its controversial nature or believing negative stereotypes. However, we believe our TV series will pave the way for more wide acceptance.

What role do influencers, celebrities, and famous figures in the entertainment industry play in driving blockchain adoption? How can they be involved effectively?

I believe influencers, celebrities, and popular figures in the entertainment industry that genuinely understand the power of blockchain technology can serve as advocates as well as educators to the masses.

They can explain to their large followers how Web3 has the potential to transform our lives and enable a better, more fair form of digital ownership.

Conviction and truth matter, so as an industry, we should try our best to amplify true believers over those who simply want to jump on the bandwagon late in a bull rally for publicity or a money grab.

Are any specific demographics or audience segments within the mainstream entertainment industry more receptive to blockchain technology? How can we target them effectively?

Our distributor for “The Next Crypto Gem,” Insight TV, has a broad reach but has a larger audience that is part of the younger Gen Z generation.

It’s widely known that young people are more interested and open to using crypto tokens and Web3 applications and are more likely to adopt them into their lifestyle and investment strategies.

Do you believe that blockchain technology can potentially revolutionize the monetization models in the mainstream entertainment industry? If so, how?

Absolutely. Blockchain technology has the potential to deliver true transparency, which would revolutionize the monetization models in the mainstream entertainment industry, which are known for “sleight of hand” accounting math. Transparency exposes corruption.

How can blockchain projects collaborate with regulatory bodies and policymakers to create a supportive environment for the adoption of blockchain technology in mainstream entertainment?

The large majority of serious blockchain projects already want to cooperate with regulatory bodies and policymakers, but in order to do so need clear guidelines and processes, which currently do not exist.

The fact can illustrate this if you are a crypto project and you go to a top Web3 experienced lawyer and tell them, “I want to play everything by the book so we are doing things right,” they can only give you advice on what they think will work, they can not give you absolute guidelines.

We hope regulatory bodies and policymakers will come to their senses that blockchain technology, like the internet, is just a technology. What we need are clear, fair guidelines that do not get in the way of innovation.

What are the most significant opportunities that arise when blockchain technology and mainstream entertainment come together? How can these opportunities be maximized for mutual benefit?

I see blockchain technology as ideal for mass adoption in several industries, including the entertainment and video game industries. I also believe an increasing number of successful Web 2 projects will find ways to incorporate a Web3 strategy and integrate a token or NFT strategy into their existing successful business models.

Can you tell us about the Next Crypto Gem series?

In “The Next Crypto Gem,” crypto projects compete in a series of challenges and are judged by top figures in our industry in hopes of being the last project standing.

Season 1 is fully shot and edited and will premiere on September 7th across 178 platforms in 56 countries. One episode will air per week in primetime for six weeks, with the final week being a double episode and wrap-up show.

This is the first competitive crypto reality show to achieve this level of mainstream distribution, and the platforms we will be on include Amazon Prime, Amazon Freevee, SamsungTV, DirectTV, Vizio, LG, and PlutoTV, to name a few.

What do you envision as the future of mainstream entertainment and its relationship with blockchain technology? How will it impact traditional entertainment models?

I expect in the future that blockchain technology will be part of our everyday lives in a similar manner to how the internet is now. I see future seasons of our show thriving, and from a cultural perspective, I see an increasing number of other films, video games, and TV shows with a Web3 theme.

I also expect blockchain technology will transform digital ownership models similarly to how the internet and streaming music/movies rendered CDs and DVDs virtually extinct. I believe with the ethos of Web3, future blockchain-enabled digital ownership models will be more decentralized and far fairer for creators that include filmmakers, artists, and musicians in their revenue-sharing models.